The Corrigan-Camden Bulldogs shot themselves in both feet, but was the last left standing Friday, as they defeated the Normangee Panthers 28-21 in an overtime thriller.
Corrigan’s homecoming was an emotional rollercoaster, where the effort on the field ultimately bailed out a potentially controversial loss. It clinched a playoff berth for the Bulldogs, setting a path toward a possible district championship to end the regular season.
The Bulldogs could be co-district champions with Leon with a win at Lovelady next Friday.
“Normangee played their tails off against us and I knew they would. Penalties, of course, killed us again. Anytime we are behind the sticks, they can pinch the run and put us in a bind,” said Bulldog head coach Brett Ratliff. “I am excited about next week to play Lovelady and take care of business there.”
Corrigan moved the chains well on their first possession, but sophomore quarterback Mikey Murphy threw an interception into the hands of Panther junior free safety Tyler Hunter.
Normangee received a crucial pass interference call to get them inside the red zone, then a potential Corrigan interception was canceled by a roughing the passer call. Despite this, the Bulldog defense still held strong for a fourth-down stop near the end zone to take control.
Bulldog senior tailback Nemo Marshall followed up with an explosive long-distance completion, sprinting to near the Normangee 30 yard line. Corrigan also got a pass interference call in their favor to get closer, before senior running back Derrick Reagie broke through on an 18-yard touchdown run. It gave the Bulldogs a 7-0 lead to start the second quarter.
The Bulldogs forced a three-and-out to quickly regain possession for another scoring drive. Reagie was stopped just short of the goal line on a run, so Murphy would finish it off with a sneak up the middle for another Bulldog touchdown. This put the Bulldogs up 13-0 after a blocked extra kick.
The Panther offense caught a big break with junior quarterback Kaleb Brooks completing a long pass to his brother, Kelvin Brooks, into the red zone. A couple of plays later, Kaleb Brooks would take it in on the keeper for a seven-yard touchdown to cut the deficit 13-7 around the two-minute warning of the first half.
With time still left, Corrigan’s offense wasted none, marching down the field and finishing on a Marshall reception and run for a long touchdown. This, along with a two-point conversion, put Corrigan up 21-7 at halftime.
Early in the third quarter, Panther senior running back Rowan Cotten broke free on a long-distance touchdown run to cut the score again at 21-14. After another costly Murphy interception, the Panthers took over for a scoring drive that was finished by another touchdown run by Cotton, tying the game at 21 all.
The Bulldog offense started to find success again early in the fourth quarter, but a holding penalty negated a huge Reagie run and Corrigan was forced to punt. After another defensive stop, Corrigan got another chance to strike midway in the fourth with more big runs from Reagie, getting them near the red zone. However, a botched reverse handoff was picked up by the Panthers for a devastating fumble to end that potential scoring drive.
Corrigan’s defense would hold on again to provide another chance for the Bulldog offense with a few minutes left. Reagie delivered again, with a massive run to get deep into Panther territory, but Normangee made consecutive stops for losses and Bulldog junior quarterback Da’Tavin Love would be sacked on fourth-and-long.
Despite the turnover on downs, another quick three-and-out would give Corrigan the ball one more time with less than 90 seconds left for a wild finish. The Bulldogs started to march down the field with no timeouts.
Reagie fumbled the ball on a run, which bounced right into the hands of junior receiver Blake Elem, who sprinted and nearly reached the endzone. The ball was clocked with very little time on second-and-goal, and it appeared an early chip shot field goal would likely be taken for the go-ahead win. Instead, Murphy rolled out looking to pass and was picked off again in the endzone to force overtime.
“With 16 seconds left, I was still a little nervous, so we were going to bootleg and just throw out of bounds and run off time. Unfortunately, it was not high and far enough. That was also a coaching mistake on my part,” Ratliff said. “I was so upset. Despite all that, the players said they got me, so my hat’s off to their effort.”
Corrigan’s offense received the ball first in overtime and Reagie broke through for the game-winning touchdown. It helped energize the Bulldog defense to force the fourth-and-long stop against the Panthers to seal the win.
